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er together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him. So far from excluding some angels and some men, by this gracious purpose of God, the apostle evidently includes all intelligences in heaven and on earth. And this agrees with his statement to the Philippians, ii. 9-11: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' Can we reasonably believe that he who wrote these words, and who elsewhere, in his writings, vindicated the sentiment they express, believed the article of faith, which we now have in trial?Not only in the first chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians, and in the second of his epistle to the Philippians, did the apostle plainly express the doctrine of universal reconcilation by Christ, but in many other passages. of his epistles. We here add what he says on this subject in Col. i. 19-22: For it pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell; and (having made peace through the blood of the cross) by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated, and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death; to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight.' Here it is clearly seen, that God's eternal purpose, which he purposed in himself, was to reconcile, by Jesus Christ, all things to himself, whether they be things in heaven, or things in earth; and that being so reconciled, they should be holy and unblaneable. How will appear the article of faith we are examining, if we compare it with the above testimony concerning the divine purpose in the reconciliation and holiness of all beings in earth and in heaven? Here stands the article-By

the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlastiug life, and others foreordained to everlasting death.' Let the honest, the unprejudiced christian look at this comparison, and let him decide in his mind which form of words, that used by the apostle, or that used by those divines who wrote the creed, his heart most approves. It is worthy of remark, that when the apostle states in the most explicit manner, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,' he assures us that this universal submission is to the glory of God the Father.' We compare this with the fact that in the article of faith, which we have in trial, we are told that the decree of God, which from eternity consigned some men and some angels to everlasting death, was for the purpose of manifesting God's own glory.According to the form of sound words, which we have quoted from the apostle, universal reconciliation to God, by Jesus Christ, is to the glory of God. But according to the form of words contained in the creed, and in which this article of faith is expressed, God, for the purpose of manifesting his glory, foreordained some men and some angels to a state of everlasting unreconciliation and death; to a state of sin, dishonor and wrath.

Before we close our remarks, respecting this article of faith, an article which has caused as much, to say the least, of disunion, in the church, of contentions, among professors of christianity, not to mention the thousands of instances of mental derangements, which have ended in madness and self-destruction, as all other dogmas in divinity put together, we must call on our readers duly and solemnly to consider the fact that the article never was and that it never can be expressed in any form of words found in the sacred writings; and also, that if no article of faith had ever been incorpo

rated into the creed of the church, which was not expressed in the language of divine inspiration, the article we have been examining would never have been heard of by christians.

3. Having taken some notice of the decree of God, according to the creeds, we shall now notice what they teach concerning the redemption of man by Jesus Christ. Here we shall find a studied agreement with the doctrine of election and reprobation. On this subject the Presbyterian Confession has the following form of words: Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will, hath chosen in Christ, unto everlasting glory. . . . As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath he, by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by his spirit working in due season; are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by his power through faith unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.' The Shorter Catechism has the following question and answer: Q. Who is the redeemer of God's elect? A. The only redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ.' That the belief that our redeemer gave himself a ransom for none but such as our heavenly Father purposed to bring, as sons, unto glory, we have no reason to doubt. But will this article in the creeds bear to be tried by any form of sound words which the Scriptures furnish?

Let us again refer to our quotation from 1 Timothy ii. Here the apostle, in a most solemn manner, assures us that the man Christ Jesus, the one mediator between God and men, gave himself a ransom for all men.

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have the same apostle's testimony again on this subject in Heb. ii, 9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.' With this agrees all the scripture testimony respecting this subject; we need therefore to mention but one more. 1 John, ii, 1, 2: My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.' With such testimony before them, how was it possible that divines, who were honest and sincerely pious, who were daily offering up prayers that they might succeed in forming creeds, which would render divine truth more plain and easier to be understood than divine inspiration had left it, after all, come to the conclusion that Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all men, who, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man and who is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, is the redeemer of only a part of mankind?

The open opposition of the creeds, in relation to this subject, to all that is found in the Scriptures respecting it, is so very appalling to candid people, who feel any respect for the Bible, that the clergy in these regions find that they must disavow this doctrine, and profess to believe that the mediator made atonement for the

sins of all men. This they have done, although they have thereby involved their creed in as great a contradiction as can be stated in words. Thus reads the Andover confession:-'That, being morally incapable of recovering the image of his Creator, which was lost in Adam, every man is justly exposed to eternal damnation. . . . That God, of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, and that he entered into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of this state of sin and misery by a redeemer; that

the only redeemer of the elect is the eternal Son of God, who for this purpose became man, and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever; that Christ, as our redeemer, executeth the office of a Prophet, Priest, and King; that agreeably to the covenant of redemption, the Son of God, and he alone, by his sufferings and death, has made atonement for the sins of all men.' Reader, look at this. God, from all eternity elected some to everlasting life, entered into a covenant of grace to deliver these elected ones out of their estate of sin and misery, by a redeemer; this covenant of grace did in no sense concern those who were not elected, and yet, agreeably to this covenant, the atonement was made for the sins of all men. Who ever read a grater or a more palpable contradiction than this? Look again: Notwithstanding this creed says that God, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, and that he entered into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of this state of sin and misery, by a redeemer; yet every man is justly liable to eternal damnation. Now as a compensation for believing all these contradictions, our clergy enjoy the happy privilege of lifting up their voices, and of proclaiming aloud to a sinful world, that the eternal Son of God has made atonement for the sins of all men. They can stand by the altar of this priesthood of the Son of God, with the covenant of redemption in open view, and pointing sinners to the blood of the cross, by which the sins of all men are atoned for, invite every sinner to embrace the Saviour by faith, and to trust in him, and in him alone for eternal life; all the time adroitly keeping out of sight the fact, that they believe that only some of mankind are elected unto everlasting life.

It is to be feared unenlightened minds, and unrenewed hearts may think it somewhat doubtful whether so much contradiction and artful management are abso-lutely necessary in the cause of divine holiness. It is.

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